


Lothar's Mage

by MirandaRoseOfSkywall (lostinmymindforever)



Category: Warcraft (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Falling In Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-07 12:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7714879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostinmymindforever/pseuds/MirandaRoseOfSkywall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Khadgar had been a good kid. He’d studied everything Medivh had put before him without complaint, had done his chores, had been pleasant and kind, hadn’t been a picky eater. And then one day all that changed and Medivh had no idea what to do with the boy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lothar's Mage

**Author's Note:**

> The underage tag is in place due to Khadgar being 16 (though no sex is shown in this fic)  
> Also, unlike in movie canon, Khadgar did not go to Dalaran, he was found by Medivh when he was 4 years old and became his apprentice then.

Khadgar had been a good kid. He’d studied everything Medivh had put before him without complaint, had done his chores, had been pleasant and kind, hadn’t been a picky eater. And then one day all that changed and Medivh had no idea what to do with the boy.

He was angry all the time, the littlest thing Medivh would say to him would set him off either in a rant or in tears. He spent most of his time in his room when he wasn’t sneaking into the kitchen and pillaging the food supplies. He took everything as either a challenge or as an attack. He stopped doing his studies, could barely be bothered to do any chores around the tower, and sometimes would sneak off or days at a time and give Medivh no answer to where he had been when he returned.

Medivh was at his wits end, so he did the one thing he thought might help. He summoned Lothar to Karazhan.

Of course Khadgar was on his best behavior when Lothar visited, and by the time Lothar left to return to Stormwind Medivh had started to believe that whatever had gotten into Khadgar had passed. Except that as soon as Lothar was gone Khadgar began acting just as he had before the man had visited Karazhan.

Medivh started to believe that Khadgar was just acting the way he was to slowly drive him crazy so he could take over as Guardian. He would not allow that to happen. If that little shit thought he could make Medivh lose his mind to the point he no longer was able to do his job he had another thing coming to him.

-

Khadgar found himself, and all his belongings, in front of a small cabin when he woke up. It wasn’t even dawn, but the cool dew on his skin and the noises of the early morning animals had woken him. He had never seen this place before, and wondered just how he had gotten there. He saw a note on top of his bags, and picked it up to read it.

_Apprentice, (though as to how long you are still my apprentice is yet to be seen)_

_Due to your recent behavior I had no choice but to send you away from Karazhan. You will find yourself outside of Lothar’s house. I have sent him a letter informing him of why I have sent you to him. You are not to return to Karazhan until you have straightened up your behavior._

_I am not sure why you are acting in the manner you have been lately, but for now you need to be away from me. It does pain me to have to do this, but for the time being you will be unable to access your powers (don’t even try, Khadgar, I’ll know if you do and it won’t be pleasant)._

_For many years now you have been my pride and joy, and your actions as of the last year or so have been breaking my heart. You are the closest thing I have ever had to having a child, an heir, and it would be a travesty if I were to lose that._

_I will come and visit in a month’s time to check on your progress. If you have not cleaned up your act by then I will leave and return again every month until you do._

_Do not think I am being cruel by doing this, it is for the best for both of us._

_Medivh_

Khadgar read the words over five times before he turned to face the door of the cabin. He knew his actions had been erratic lately, knew he’d been pushing his limits, and yet he couldn’t help himself. His mind was spinning out of control, one minute he’d be perfectly calm and the next he’d feel either an overwhelming sense of anger or sorrow. He was hungry all the time, and, more embarrassingly, horny almost constantly.

He was still lost in his thoughts when the door of the cabin opened and Lothar leaned against the door-frame looking at him.

“You gonna stand out there all day or come inside?” he finally asked.

Khadgar began to grab his belongings, and noticed it was much harder to do without access to magic. He sighed, hefting as much as he could before heading into the cabin and setting his things down, only to turn around to do it once more. On his third trip outside Lothar followed him and helped him get the rest of his belongings. Khadgar wanted to thank the man, wanted to say anything, but suddenly just what had happened sunk in and Khadgar felt tears forming in his eyes.

He hated feeling like this, so weak and useless. Hated that he had been sent away from the only home he had known since he was a small child and Medivh had taken him in. Hated that he couldn’t control the raging emotions that ran through him.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re a teenager, I don’t think Medivh really gets how it is. All teenagers are expected to have mood swings and change in behavior. I sure know I did, so did Medivh when we were younger.”

“I’m sorry. I just… I want to be good, I want to make him proud of me… I just… I hate how I am right now. I should be better than this. I shouldn’t have had to be sent away.”

Lothar came up next to Khadgar and pulled the boy into his arms. He could tell that Khadgar meant it, that even with his youthful rebellion he was at heart a good kid. He also knew that Medivh, Light help him, didn’t have much experience with teenagers. Lothar pulled Khadgar against his chest and let the boy cry.

Khadgar wanted to stop crying, he really did, but for the first time in longer than he could remember he felt like he had the right to do so and now that the floodgates were open he couldn’t stop. When was the last time anyone had held him like this? Thinking about it, it was probably his mother right before she gave Khadgar to Medivh for training. He’d been four at that time. Had it really been 12 years since anyone had hugged him, had comforted him like this?

By the time Khadgar had calmed down and stopped crying the sun was rising over the horizon and Callan had come out of his bedroom for breakfast. Lothar introduced the boys and told his son that Khadgar would be staying with them for a time. As much as he wanted to coddle and protect the young mage he knew that wouldn’t help matters, so Lothar set Khadgar to help assist in making breakfast.

Khadgar found the work both frustrating and soothing at the same time. Frustrating because he’d never before had to do such work, and soothing because he felt useful. Even when he messed up a little neither Callan nor Lothar berated him for it, they just showed him the proper way of doing whatever task it was he was doing. Maybe it took longer than it should have, and yet by the time breakfast was ready and they sat down to eat they were all in good moods.

Soon after breakfast Callan headed out, and Lothar told Khadgar that Callan was going off to Stormwind for a few weeks for training. Khadgar both felt relieved about not having to spend his time trying to fit in with another teenager and stressed due to the fact that ever since he’d hit puberty he’d been plagued with dreams about the man whose house he now was temporarily living in. Before Lothar’s visit to Karazhan six months earlier the last time Khadgar had seen him was when he was about 8 or 9 years old. And now he found himself sharing a house with the man who had been the starring figure in most of his adolescent sexual fantasies.

In the weeks that passed Lothar didn’t know what to think about Khadgar. The boy was so willing to do whatever he was asked to, quiet to the point that sometimes Lothar forgot he was even there. And yet Medivh had insisted that the boy was troubled, that he was in some way “plotting” to drive him insane so he could take over the duty of being the Guardian. And yet Lothar never saw that side of Khadgar. All he saw was a young man desperate for attention, crying out for affection, for someone to just see him and not his potential. And what was worse was the fact that Lothar found himself growing attached to the young mage in a way he knew wasn’t appropriate.

Callan had returned from Stormwind a few days before Medivh’s scheduled visit, though he had informed both Lothar and Khadgar that he wouldn’t be home for long, that he was only on a brief visit before heading out for a training mission that would keep him away for at least six months. A part of Lothar hoped and prayed that Medivh would not think Khadgar ready to return to Karazhan so that he would be able to stay with Lothar, no matter how selfish of him that thought seemed.

When Medivh arrived at Lothar’s home he noticed the sense of calm that Khadgar had and was planning on having the boy return with him. Before he could make that announcement, though, Lothar pulled him outside to speak with him.

“He’s not ready, Medivh. Khadgar needs more time, he needs time to be a teenager, to be more than just… just your apprentice. Do you have any idea how starved for attention he is? How desperate he is for affection?”

“I give him attention, Lothar.”

“Not the kind he needs. By the Light, you took him from his family when he was four years old. He barely had a chance to be a child, let alone anything else.”

“There is so much or him to learn. I just thought...”

“Medivh, you grew up in Dalaran. There were other kids around you, even though you trained hard there you weren’t alone. We both know that there aren’t any other kids in Karazhan. You forced him to basically become an adult as a small boy, of course he’s going to rebel from that. He needs to be able to be just Khadgar, not the apprentice, not the heir to the Guardian. I don’t think he even knows who he really is as a person. He’s only a year younger than Callan and yet he seems so much younger than him in some ways because he’s been so sheltered. I’m afraid he’ll break if he goes back with you.”

Medivh looked at Lothar and knew if it was anyone else, save for Llane, saying these things he would have ignored the words and taken Khadgar right then and there. But it was Lothar, and Medivh knew that if his old friend believed that returning Khadgar to Karazhan would be detrimental to the boy’s well being then that was probably the case. He nodded, and without another word he took his raven form and flew away.

Khadgar hadn’t known what to think when Lothar had told him that Medivh had left. Part of him felt glad, that a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and yet another part of him mourned. He’d been Medivh’s apprentice for most of his life and having his master turn his back on him hurt. Khadgar bottled those feelings inside, just as he bottled the growing feelings he felt for Lothar. He knew he was foolish, that his youthful infatuation with the man would never lead anywhere but to heartache, but at the same time he couldn’t help how he felt. The more time he spent with Lothar the more he grew attached to the man and he knew when Medivh finally took him back he’d end up heartbroken.

Lothar didn’t want to look too closely at his own emotions where it came to Khadgar, and yet he couldn’t help but realize he was falling in love with the young man. He knew those feelings were ludicrous, that the boy would never see him as anything but a surrogate father figure, and yet he knew that he was completely and utterly in love with the young man in a way that he knew would never go away.

By the time Medivh returned once more Callan had been away for almost three weeks. Lothar was completely smitten with Khadgar, and he tried so hard to not let those feelings show when he talked with Medivh. But Medivh knew, he’d known Lothar long enough to read the man’s most hidden emotions. Medivh would have taken Khadgar away from Lothar, preventing his old friend from heartache, if it wasn’t for the fact that he saw the same look, the same emotions on Khadgar’s face.

This time when Medivh left he removed the spell he had placed on Khadgar. He knew that being stripped of his powers for two months was long enough. He also knew that it was unlikely that Khadgar would ever become Guardian, as powerful a mage as the boy was. The restrictions one had to put upon themselves to hold that title were something Medivh knew Khadgar could never do. Medivh sent a note to Lothar, telling him and Khadgar that he wouldn’t return for at least another six months.

Khadgar didn’t know what to do with himself. He had his power back, which did allow him to be more useful around the house, and yet he found himself at a loss of what to do. He wanted Lothar so badly, and knew the man saw him as a son, so he never said a word of how he really felt for the man. But every day they spent together Khadgar found himself falling deeper and deeper in love with Lothar.

Lothar hadn’t drank much since Khadgar had moved in with him, and yet the news that the young man would be staying with him for at least another six months had him on edge. He found himself wanting things from the young mage, things he knew he shouldn’t, and so after a few weeks since Medivh’s last visit Lothar went out and got spectacularly drunk. He stumbled back into his house and saw Khadgar asleep in front of the fire, a book perched precariously on his knee.

Lothar crossed the room, kneeling before the sleeping mage. As delicately as he could he moved the book off of Khadgar’s knee, placing it on a nearby table. He let his gaze travel over Khadgar’s face, drinking in the features that distracted him so. He reached up, gently caressing the side of his mage’s face, watching as the boy woke. “Hello, beautiful,” he said softly, letting his fingers trace Khadgar’s lips.

Khadgar could smell the ale on Lothar’s breath, could tell by the glazed look in his eyes that the man was drunk, and yet he allowed himself to pretend that it was him that Lothar saw, that Lothar was looking at with such a loving look. He knew he should pull away, that he should stop Lothar from doing whatever he was planning on doing, and yet he found himself unable to do so. “Lothar,” he breathed, not really knowing what he wanted to say to the man.

“My Khadgar,” Lothar said in a breathy voice, and something about his tone made Khadgar break. “I love you so much, I know I shouldn’t, that I’m not good enough for you. You deserve more than a broken old soldier, and yet I’d give you the world if I could.”

Khadgar felt his pulse pounding in his ears. Could Lothar really mean that? Could Lothar really love him just as much as he loved the man? He wanted Lothar so badly, and yet he knew right now he couldn’t allow this to continue. Lothar was drunk, and if Khadgar allowed anything to happen between them he couldn’t live with himself. Finally he spoke once more, “Lothar, tell me again in the morning. Tell me when you are sober. I can’t… I can’t let myself believe this is real while you are drunk.”

Allowing Khadgar to get up and go to his room had to be the hardest thing Lothar had done. When he woke the next day his head was pounding, and yet Lothar couldn’t help but smile. He found his mage, and yes Khadgar was his mage, in the kitchen, busy cleaning up dishes. There was food on the table, and Lothar could tell that Khadgar had made breakfast for them. He walked swiftly into the room, and wrapped his arms around Khadgar. “Good morning, Lovely.”

Khadgar let himself melt into Lothar’s arms, “Good morning.”

“I love you. I am in love with you. I know I’m not much, but what I am is yours.”

Khadgar turned in Lothar’s embrace, facing the man. He let his hand run along Lothar’s cheek, smiling, “You’re more than I deserve, Anduin Lothar. But… all I am is yours as well.”

Lothar felt as if his cheeks were splitting in two with how large his grin got at those words. Suddenly nervous he asked, “May I kiss you?”

Khadgar smiled, “You don’t have to ask that ever again.” And when Lothar kissed him it blew away every single fantasy he had ever had about the act. He let himself get lost in Lothar’s kisses, his knees going weak and Lothar holding him up. He loved this man so intensely, and yet a part of him still worried about not being good enough for the man.

“Stop that,” Lothar whispered against Khadgar’s lips. “Stop doubting this, doubting me. I love you, I want you, I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me.”

Khadgar nodded, allowing Lothar’s words to chase away the doubts he was feeling. He let himself get lost in Lothar’s presence, allowing the older man to lead him from the kitchen. Breakfast was quickly forgotten.

By the time Medivh did come back to visit Callan had both come home and left once more. Lothar and Khadgar had been together for over six months at that point, and Khadgar realized then what Medivh had known ever since his last visit. Khadgar would not be returning to Karazhan as Medivh’s apprentice, he was no longer the same young man he had been before he came here. He was Lothar’s mage now, not Medivh’s.


End file.
